Method of burning clay to make ballast



No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. G. BUTLER. METHOD OF BURNING CLAY TO MAKE BALLAST, &c.

No. 529,480. Patented Nov. 20,1894.

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(No Model.)

Patented Nov. 20, 1894.

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UNITED STATES arnnr HENRY G. BUTLER, OF KENOSHA, VVISGONSIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 529,480, dated November-20, 1894.

Application filed January 27, 1894- Serial No. 498,204. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY G. BUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kenosha,

in the county of Kenosha and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Burning Clay to Make Ballast, &c., ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in kiln-burning dirt,commonly referred to in the art as clay, to reduce it to the igneous product used as ballast for railroads, as paving material for streets, and the like; and it relates, particularly, to an improvement on the method of procedure set forth in Letters Patent of the United States No. 491,764., issued on the 14th day of February, 1893, jointly to William Butler and myself.

The procedure forming the subject of the aforesaid patent constitutes a radical departure from the practice previously observed in the art,-=-namely that of burning the material in the open airinasmuch as it depends for its efficacy on burning the mass of material in a kiln and erecting the kiln-walls as the increment and burning of the mass proceed.

Since to comprehend my present improvement the aforesaid patented process should be understood, I here present a general description of the latter. After laying, on or adjacent to ground covering dirt suitable for reduction to ballast by burning, and along a (temporary) line of railway, a long pile of kindling material, preferably in and upon transverse trenches affording base flues produced by piling in ridges the upper dirt of poorer quality in the ground, and coal has been spread on the pile of kindling, clay, dug from the side or sides of the line of the fire, and which should be moist, is piled on the bed of kindling; and the pile is ready to be walled in at its sides and ends, as by banking with earth, preferably of the variety, including sod, too poor to be reduced readily by burning to a good quality of ballast, the fire is then lighted, and allowed to burn for a considerable time, when a layer of coal and then a fresh layer of clay are piled upon it, and the kilnwalls are continued as to their height, and the piling on of alternate layers of coal and clay, and continuation of the inclosing walls are proceeded with thus throughout the burn- I to be burned, thus to increase the transverse dimensions of the kiln, by employing as the inner wall for each new fire the adjacent kilnwall, the material of which becomes thus so thoroughly embedded in the glowing mass of the pile as to be burned into an acceptable quality of ballast, and thepatent sets forth other minor details in the procedure, which may be observed more or less accurately, or departed from, in my improved procedure.

It will readily be apparent, that as the width of the kiln increases by the addition, abreast of the original fire, according to the patented manner of procedure, of successive piles, the aggregate kiln eventually grows beyond the reach from the track, at one side of the longitudinal trench formed by digging the clay, of the boom of the operating mechanism commonly provided on a car on the track for working a scraper to dig the clay and carry it to and deposit it on the pile, the track being shifted away from the trench as the width of the latter increases by the digging; and as the height to which the kiln may be allowed to extend is limited Within bounds of practicability, as is also the length of boom that may be employed, the width of the kiln is accordingly limited,

The primary object of my present improvement is to provide a method of procedure whereby it shall be thoroughly practicable to continue the kiln to any desired width; and

it is further my object to improve the aforesaid patented method of burning clay in a kiln in matters of detail, all as hereinafter described.

The accompanying drawings portray, as clearly as the nature of theinvention will permit, my improvement.

Figure 1 is a section taken at the line 1 on Fig. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrow;

ICO

Fig. 2, a plan view in the nature of a plan-.

diagram; and Fig. 3, a View like that presented by Fig. 1, but representing a kiln completed in accordance with my improvement.

A trench A is dug along one side of a railroad-track (not shown) and the soil first so dug is piled upon the level ground, at the side of the trench farthest from the track, in a bank B, and ridges rare formed with dirtto extend transversely of the trench and afford base-fiues q between them for-the superstructure comprising the kiln-walls and their contents. While these flue-forming ridges and the bank are not indispensable, I prefer to provide them; and whenthey are employed, they should extend transversely through the base of the entire kiln, thus also up along the sloping side of the trench A down which the kiln-structure is extended. In. the. tines and across the topszoftheridgesis piledkindlin wood. Indicated at 10 andp in Fig; 2.1 Then coalisispreadupon the kindling. and arlaye'r of clay isrpiledthereon; and the incipient fire thus-laidlis inclosed10n=all sides between walls, theside-wallsbeingdenoted in. Figs. 1 and 2 respectively by=the.reference-letters O and D.

The pilezis then: lighted? to cause it to burnthroughout itslength, and the burning isallowed'toicontinue for a desired period of time, when-additionalcoal andclay are piled thereoma-ndtheheight of the kiln-walls is accordinglydncreased, the'inferior materialfor thewalls oncsome of it, at least, being taken from the bank-:Bpif desired. 7 When the kiln has been increased' inidept-h bythe successive-inn position of several such layers, and theheight of the walls has been: accordinglyiincreased, a

second kiln-ispreparedzinffronuwor:along thetrenchL-side, of the first, the wall D of the first kiln being.- precipitated' down the side ofthe trench to'for-m the-bed, or a covering on the kindling-bed, of thenew kiln, for which another front wall Dis built, the end-wallsbeingi accordingly extended. Upon this aggregated-kiln the material for reduction into ballastis piled in-layersto extend from the newfr'ont w-all back to the permanent rear-- wall 0, theheight I of xthe' walls-being-always continuedto reach to or about to the plane of thesloping-top of the mass-within thekiln. When a desired number of layers ofthematerial has been thus'imposed and allowed to burn, the second front wall D is precipitated and a=third=kiln built,-in-the manner described of the second; and the wideningand height abovethebank B of the original kiln may be thus continued till it becomes impracticable for" the feeding-.machineryto carry the" ma-' terial back to the rear wall.

In Fig. 3 ofthe-drawings, which represents the completed aggregate kiln, I- repre-- sent the accumulation of layers extending from each precipitated wall D backward, as-

a stratum D. 7

When the kiln hasattained the height and width referredto, I build' onthe top of the massvin thekiln at a distance fI'OmLIZhB' wall Oabout equal to the Width ofthe foundationfor 'a-new extension'or kiln, a secondary'wall' 0', whereby it may be reached by the feedingv machinery, and beingJbuiltJ ona slope, the height of the secondary wall can correspond with that of the wall 0 and still form a back for additional strata D of the material imposedon the pile. Thereafter, when the sloping strata reach'to the-height of the first wall 0, another secondary wall 0' is erected,

about the same distance from the first that the latter is from the wall (J, and to the height thereof, to back additional strata; and as the kiln-sections between-the back-walls are thus abandoned, they should be covered over with mud,o. other material that will pack readily, to confine the heat below. The building is thus continued to a-nydesiredextent;-and the final wall D ismeantime: built up to the height ofthewalls-O, (1'1 The foregoingprocedure is rendered ens "tirely practicable by build-ingthe kilinson an slope, which facilitates-the merging: with. the ,kiln'of each new addition ,and. permits-the layers of clay to be continuous overthewholer As a-still further advantage to-my improvement may be. stated that," byenabling. the. lighting of-the fire to be performed at the lower side, better combustiom isoccasionedthrough the massof material byreasorrsof the better draft afiorded, andiniconseqiuence the lower and cheaper grades oflfuel-may be used. Moreover, by presenting thetop -surface of the kiln on a slope, it may beth'e-more extensively supervised and'ena-bles-the-operator of the feeding-apparatus the-moreevenly {to distributethe clay over it.

Finished ballast mayibetaken fornsefrom the back of the kiln w-h-ile the-burning :is proceeding toward the opposite-side: To-dothis=the back=- Wall 7 0, after having become cooled, is torn down, andtthe materialthereof 1 may be used, by spreading; it "on th'eground, to make a foundation for a loading-track and 1. Inv kilnfburning" clay' to produce ballast and the like, the method of constructingand ;operating the kiln, which'consists -in= Yr built!- ing wallsinclosingthemass of the material to be burned and burning-said material, continuing building said walls as the increment' and burning of said mass proceed, building another kiln infront 05 the first withra fro-nt' wall and merging it withthe fi'rstk-il-m by=pre cipitating 'the front wall of.the latter and piling material tobeburned in layers extend ing between theoriginal rear wal-l and the' new-front wall, substantially as described;- 1 1 2; In kiln-burni-ngrclay to produce ball'ast and the like, the method'of constructing and? Theunburned:

operating the kiln, which consists in building walls inclosing the mass of material to be burned on a slope and burning said material, continuing building said walls as the increment and burning of said mass proceed, building another kiln on the slope in front of the first with a front wall and merging it with the first kiln by precipitating the front wall of the latter down the slope and piling material to be burned in sloping layers extending from the original rear Wall to the new front wall, substantially as described.

3. In kiln-burning clay to produce ballast and the like, the method of constructing and operating the kiln,which consists in building walls for inclosing the mass of material to be burned on a slope and burning said material, continuing building said walls as the increment and burning of said mass proceed, building successively at intervals down the slope additional walls and piling the material to be burned in sloping layers to extend between the original rear wall and the lower front wall, building a second rear wall at a suitable distance from the first upon the mass of material in the kiln and continuing the piling of material to be burned between such second rear wall and the final front wall, substantially as described.

4. In kiln-burning clay to produce ballast and the like, the method of constructing and operating the kiln, which consists in building walls for inclosin g the mass of the material to be burned on a slope and burning said material, continuing building said walls as the increment and burning of said mass proceed, building successively at intervals down the slope additional front walls and piling the material to be burned in sloping layers to extend between the original rear wall and the lower front wall, precipitating a front wall down the slope preparatory to building the next front wall, building aseoond rear wall at a suitable distance from the first upon the mass of material in the kiln, and continuing the piling of material to be burned between such second rear wall and the final front wall, substantially as described.

5. In kiln-burning clay to make ballast and the like, by progressively widening and increasing the height of the kiln and its contents in burning the latter, the method of preventing the growth of the kiln from extending, beyond the reach of the feeding apparatus, the exposed surface of the bed of material on which to pile further material to be burned, which consists in building on the said bed, in succession as required, and at suitable intervals from the original rear kiln-wall and from each other, secondary kiln-walls 0, substantially as described.

HENRY G. BUTLER.

In presence of-= M. J. FROST, W. N. WILLIAMS. 

